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Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Sebastiana Randone

Guest Post by Sebastiana Randone

A CAST OF DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS

When first conceiving my characters for The House, I took myself back to the many fairy tales I had read as a child, and channelled some of the creatures and folk prevalent in those classic stories. By thinking of them as archetypes, I created a beastly and dipsomaniacal Lord, an analogy to the predatory wolf, a sensitive Lady powerless to find her true calling, an essence of the damsel in distress, and a troupe of personages that one never reads about in novels written during the (regency) era my book presides in. Such as is the diverse cast that inhabit my book; transvestites, homosexuals, rent boys, courtesans, poets, and of course a time traveller, to name some of this disparate ensemble.

Menacing gargoyles, half man/beast manifestations, another borrowing from the classics, clasp the walls of the house, while in contrast, and most unexpectedly, the interior is adorned by cherubim, goddesses and friendly hard to define souls, whose animated amiable eyes follow in sympathy. Upon the face of it, the beasts ‘guarding’ the ramshackle house symbolise unknown and potentially perilous encounters within. The accidental visitor is left with very little choice for shelter however, for the forest whilst enchanting, has an impending darkness that only wolves and predators revel in.

With a narrative that takes the reader into the Georgian and Regency periods, I purposely created players that I had never met in the books of Jane Austen, nor of those of her contemporaries. While the dramatis personae in ‘The House’ have walked the well trodden path of humanity, social mores of periods past would most certainly not have approved. This was the distinction I enjoyed exploring. Despite the fact that I worked diligently to give them a voice that belonged to that particular era, the aspiration was to write a story that portrayed a familiar humanity. I have been a passionate reader of classic novels for a long while, and the ones that engage me most profoundly are those that present a psychologically complex society. Regardless of the departure from reality that this fantasy novel affords, my aim was to fashion recognisable characters that have travelled throughout time.

The
House is the tale of a woman, who is so absorbed with historical
novels that her own reality ceases to offer any hope of romance and
beauty.

One
day this dreamy idealist finds herself in a mysterious forest. How
she arrived there is unknown. She encounters a ramshackle house,
wherein magical rooms that transport to parallel worlds lay in wait.
She is transported to historical England, where she interacts with a
collection of character's whose dysfunctional lives become apparent
immediately.

The
first tribulation involves a nefarious lord, an archetypal embodiment
of the monstrous creatures that often haunt fairy tales. The
ramification of this confrontation sets the tone for the narrative.

Before
long, the folly of disdaining her mundane reality is realized, and
she desires desperately to return to her former predictable life.

A
hidden portal finally enables escape from the austere Georgian
dwelling. She is spirited back to the enigmatic house, where a
journey to Regency London ensues. A large cast of eccentric
identities present themselves.

One
day a handsome, despondent poet arrives, following a period in
Florence. His introduction to the time traveler offers promise of
restoration and love. But upon the face of it, and much to his
chagrin, this union cannot be consummated. There are a few more
obstacles ahead before her destiny in this strange adventure is made
apparent. In the end a past life connection starts to reveal itself.
And like all good fairy tales, the ending is pleasing, even though
the means of getting there are dark and at times, sinister.